Whether bonsai trees or the first Walkman – Japan has a love for the miniaturization of nature and technology. This can also be seen in the car market: According to the Association of Japanese Car Dealers, the bestseller of 2022 is the Honda N box with 202,197 copies sold.
The most striking feature of the car is not a powerful engine, a special design or even an extremely low price, but the anti-thesis of always-faster-stronger-bigger thinking that often rules the markets. In fact, the N-Box is a spacious and flexible example of the Japanese segment of kei cars, the light cars, which account for about a quarter of the Japanese car market due to their high utility and lower cost. Overall, five kei cars from Honda, Daihatsu and Suzuki made it into Japan’s top 10.
Kei-Car: It can be that many cars
The amazing thing: Since 1998, the cars in this class have not grown in length, width or motorization. Because the segment, which was once clearly tax-privileged, is strictly regulated in these matters. A kei car may not be longer than 3.40 meters, no wider than 1.48 meters and no higher than two meters. And the “little engines” are limited to 660 cubic centimeters and 64 hp. More cars are not possible. Even electric minis like the new Nissan Sakura adopt the horsepower limit.
Honda’s N-Box does not even exhaust the PS limit in its lower price range. To do this, it adopts the high toast shape popular with Kei Car designers and customers, which, with a very short bonnet and a flat floor, offers plenty of space for four people in a small space.
However, since the first N-Box eight years ago, the car manufacturer has earned a reputation for being particularly innovative in dealing with the small space and technology. That’s why it’s been the most popular kei car for years among customers who don’t have to drive long distances but want to travel comfortably. Especially on narrow country and city streets, narrow small cars offer advantages that, thanks to a speed limit, do not disappear entirely on the motorway. As a rule, you are not allowed to drive more than 100 km/h. If you want, you can collect fines for speeding with the small engines.
N-Box with little gimmicks
Kei-Cars are also very popular with me, and among them the N-Box in particular: In my car-sharing service, where I can choose from 15 models in my neighborhood, I drive the N-Box most often. Small gimmicks have particularly appealed to me. For example, there is a small mirror above the rear-view mirror that the driver can use to monitor the children in the back seats. Another mirror system in the side window on the passenger side also makes it possible to see the blind spot without a camera.
Japan has always tried everything possible with electronics – and often the impossible. Every Thursday our author Martin Kölling reports on the latest trends from Japan and neighboring countries.
Comfort and driving assistants are two other aspects. Although the vehicle is around 60 centimeters shorter than a VW Polo, it has almost the same wheelbase of 2.52 metres. In addition, the Honda allows tall occupants to wear a hat and small ones, even a top hat.
The model with two-wheel drive is almost 1.70 meters high, the model with all-wheel drive even more than 1.80 meters. At the same time, the interior can be configured very flexibly thanks to individually sliding seats. If you sacrifice luggage space, it sits in the back like a Mercedes S-Class, at least in terms of legroom.
On request, buyers can now get extensive safety packages from Honda – as well as from many competitors. These include lane, speed and distance maintenance and recognition of speed limits.
As a result, the kei cars that were once developed as a cheap alternative are no longer so cheap. The entry-level model starts at 1.4 million yen (10,100 euros). Those who value four-wheel drive, spoilers and two-tone paint can drive the price up to around 2.3 million yen (16,600 euros). At the same time, the government has significantly reduced tax benefits to give larger cars better market opportunities. However, this did not harm the popularity of kei cars. Japan’s demand shows that fewer cars can pay off more for manufacturers. Maybe manufacturers in other markets just need more courage.
(jle)
